New Balance Indoor Boys — Loudoun Relays Run Wild

NEW YORK CITY, March 08-10—In a rampage that lasted just about 24 hours, the boys baton teams from Loudoun Valley (Purcellville, Virginia) took control of the newsfeed at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, grabbing 3 wins and 2 High School Records as the Jungle TC.

On Friday night the team made history in the distance medley. Bronxville leadoff Sam Rizzo blasted a 2:59.45 on the opening 1200, leaving Loudoun’s Jacob Hunter 12m behind at 3:01.33. Akere Simms put down a 50.91 to bring the Virginians even with Bronxville, then Connor Wells built a huge lead with his 1:55.96 to handoff to Sam Affolder. A senior who moved to Virginia and Loudoun Valley in ’17, Affolder had actually been the leadoff on the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, team that set the national record of 9:56.18 two years ago. Affolder steadily churned the laps and kept his eye on the clock, hitting 59.3 for his final 400 to clock a 4:06.21, bringing the team home in a record 9:54.41. “I know that the boys put a lot of trust in me on that anchor,” he said.

On Saturday afternoon, Loudoun lined up for the 4 x Mile, chasing the HSR of 17:01.82 it set in last year’s meet. Last year Wells led off at 4:24.7, Hunter ran 4:15.0 and Affolder 4:10.6. This time Kevin Carlson led off at 4:22.26 and the foursome was never headed, as Wells ran 4:21.46 and Affolder 4:06.19. On the anchor, Hunter chased the clock, his 4:11.90 yielding a final time of 17:01.81, breaking the record by a mere 0.01. The time also rates as the “absolute” (in/out combined) record.

Less than 6 hours later came the 4×8, and Loudoun churned off a 7:40.49, becoming the No. 3 school ever. Affolder contributed the fastest leg, 1:51.37. It was the first time that all three of the distance relays had gone to the same school. Said coach Joan Hunter of the last win, “Wasn’t expecting that.” Wells, who ran second leg on the 4×8, said, “Before the race, Coach Hunter was like, ‘Don’t be content. You’ve had a great Friday and Saturday but don’t stop here. This is a whole new race.’ ”

The sprints featured a pair of top-notch performances. Micah Williams (Benson, Portland) roared to a dash win in 6.60, becoming the No. 3 performer ever. In the 200, Mario Heslop (Franklin, Somerset, NJ) produced a 20.90 winner to move to No. 3 on that ATL. Justin Robinson (West, Hazelwood, Missouri) moved to No. 5 in the 400 with his 46.55 victory over Ashton Allen (Bullis, Potomac, Maryland), who ran 46.99.

After the leaders passed three-quarters in 3:06.7, the mile got crazy with a number of big bumps, near-falls and a DQ. Fastest survivor was Jake Renfree (Catholic, Knoxville) whose 4:06.39 moved him to No. 10 ever. Behind him Cole Sprout (Valor, Highlands Ranch, Colorado) and Nick Foster (Pioneer, Ann Arbor), ran 4:06.68 and 4:07.18.

Hurdle leader Kurt Powdar of Smith (Chesapeake, Virginia) rocketed a 7.63 heat but got his steps wrong in the final, stopping at the first barrier as Sincere Rhea (St. Augustine, Richland, New Jersey) took the win in 7.69. The day before Powdar led his Smith teammates to a win in the shuttle hurdles, their 29.02 ranking No. 3 all-time.

On the field, Max Manson (Monarch, Louisville, Colorado) highlighted the action with a 17-5½ vault win. Justin Forde of McMahon (Norwalk, Connecticut) took the triple with a list-leading 51-3. The shot produced a nice battle, Aiden Felty (Billerica, Massachusetts) topping Patrick Piperi (The Woodlands, Texas), 66-8¾ to 66-3¾.

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.